Rolling Thunder Cyclocross Race November 1st and 2nd

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

When I started road racing in 2008, I was struck by the schedule mismatch, with race after race in the spring when it was still snowing and cold, and not a single race in July when it finally got nice. Are these Montana cyclists masochists, I wondered? Do they really enjoy riding in the worst Montana springs have to offer?

Well yes, it turns out that Montana cyclists are masochists. But it also turns out that it is fun to race in nice weather, as we’ve proved with Tour de Bozeman, which this year will take place over the weekend of July 8-10.

Don’t get me wrong: Tour de Bozeman is a true masochist’s event, and many of you will want to slug me (if you had the energy) when you cross the finish line after the Sunday road race. No matter your cycling strengths and weaknesses, we’ll reveal them at Tour de Bozeman. Are you a sprinter who never quite seems to make it to the finish in the lead group? We’ve got the Main Street sprints to make you laugh, and the road race to make you weep. Are you a bean pole climber but can’t TT to save your life? You’ll curse the time trial and love the road race.

The good news is you’ll suffer in relatively good weather. It’s very unlikely to snow (though don’t quote me on that), and I don’t think we’ll have any forest fire smoke. Instead, it’ll be green and lush, with plenty of wildflowers and snow-capped peaks as a backdrop.

And, this is one race where it’s worth sticking around for the awards. Not only will the GC winners get a SWEET custom trophy, but the cash purse is pretty much out of this world. Given that most Montana races have a cash purse of $499 or less, you’ll happy to know that the payouts for each individual field is well beyond that. A GC win in the women’s 1-2-3 or men’s 1-2 fields could mean hundreds of bucks in winnings. All in all we’ll be handing out $8 Gs worth of twenty and fifty dollar bills. Not bad for three days’ work.

And, the best part is that you’ll look back on the experience fondly, and count it among your bestsummer adventures. Hence the Type 2 Fun title for this post (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google it).

So here are the nuts and bolts:

Online registration is open until 10:00 p.m. MDT on Wednesday, July 6. Now I know Montanaracers don’t “do” online registration, but in this case I hope you’ll make an exception because ifyou do you’ll have a pretty good chance of winning a race T-shirt (we’re giving away 30 to onlineregistrants), and because it makes life far easier for the hard-working race organizers.The first event starts Friday afternoon, with the first crit field starting at 3:00 p.m. So, makesure to put in for some vacation time on Friday the 8th. Plan on hanging out for awards. We won’t mail trophies, though we will mail cash. We do our best to get results done ASAP after the road race so you can pose for photos and then hit theroad.

You can register and get more information at www.tourdebozeman.com. We’ll look forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks!